Humanities Fellows Sense of Place Program
Columbia River-Yakima-Seattle Rolling Seminar
Debriefing Session
& Potluck Social
Thurs. May 29, 2003,
7:00 P.M.-9:00 P.M.
Business Technology
Incubator, Moscow
Present: Rula
Awwad-Rafferty, Kenton Bird, Mary DuPree, Lauren Fins, Jerry Fischer, Pat Hart,
Natalie Kreutzer, Bill McLaughlin, Sheila O’Brien, Jim Reece, Gundars Rudzitis,
Margaret Salazar, Nick Sanyal, notes by Nancy Chaney
Mary set forth
the agenda: Newly returned from the rolling seminar, the group was to brainstorm
about each of six general topics, outlined below, while Kenton
quickly wrote their ideas on poster-size sheets of paper affixed to the wall.
1)
Themes & topics explored & future activities relating to this
program
- Connectedness:
Family, community, places & people, polarization, significance of local
knowledge (whether it be spawning salmon, thriving trees, or people who
understand their places), sense of ownership, intergenerational interaction,
“changing ownership” (literally & figuratively; also part of Economics)
- “The
individual matters”: Naming vs. labeling, us
vs. them, power of the individual,
our presence (individually & collectively) as catalyst for change
- Societal
norms & dissonance: Rituals, storytelling, traditions & attempts
to restore “something lost,” pride & desire to preserve traditions
& traditional values, “social mobilization” (Bill), “dissonance
with place” (Jerry), social justice
- Arts
& culture: Dance, artists & art, architecture, music, changing
cultural landscapes
- Macro
& micro economics: greed, globalization, consumerism, “changing
ownership” (literally & figuratively; also part of Connectedness)
- Mobility:
Transportation, placelessness, movement & migration, immigration &
settlement
- Environmental
issues: Relationships between natural resources, residents, & place,
responsible planning vs. lack of forethought, thinking seven generations
ahead, water/watersheds, increasing cultural diversity vs. decreasing
biodiversity
2)
Gaps: what topics were under-served?
- High
tech (computer technology, Microsoft)
- Transportation
(Boeing, shipping/barge traffic)
- Suburbs
(Bellevue)
- Media:
TV, movies, newspapers
- Literature
- Housing:
domestic places (homes), nomadic populations (snowbirds, motor home
retirees, house boats vs. floating homes/life on a barge, migrants,
traveling professionals (e.g. nurses), visiting faculty
- Natural
places vs. urban: Urban forestry, wild places
- Spirituality:
faith communities, Sephordic community
- Work/labor,
unemployment, life on the margins
- Psychology
of place: Perception/cognition,
adaptation, coping w/ loss/grief/stability
- Ethnicity
- Law
- Politics
- Education
- Healthcare
- Fashion
(Rula): jewelry, apparel
- Recreation:
Sports, outdoor recreation
- People
w/ disabilities
3)
Plans for the summer & fall
- Wilderness:
Taylor Ranch
- Wine
Country: Walla Walla
- Visit
Mary Butters’ farm
- “Company
town”: Vista Hermosa (west from Waitsburg), Potlatch
- Visit
southern Idaho
- Sing!
(karaoke)
- Plan
fundraiser
- Party
w/ significant others: July 4 at Rula’s & Dan’s
- Work
for continued vitality of Humanities Program: Rotating teams of 3 will plan
& arrange get-togethers; encourage camaraderie/esprit de corps; identify
gathering places/salons; consider Bookpeople, Wellspring Room, Prichard
Gallery, Patty’s Mexican Restaurant on 6th St. (picnic on
lawn-); group workshops (e.g. Paul Brians’ dim sum cooking class)
- Prichard
Gallery exhibit
- Harry
Orchard program at Kenworthy
- Multimedia
event at Kenworthy, highlighting SOP Program activities
- Invite
guest speakers: Bob Santos, Bill Wollum, Roy Ko
- Tue
faculty colloquia, 12:30-1:30, consider panel discussion w/ 3 or so
seminarians
- Borah
Symposium topics not confirmed: Bill suggested “War & Place.” Reply
to Rula.
- Look
at Japanese internment camp Web site, Idaho locations; program w/ workshops
for elementary teachers
- Address
visiting groups like Life on Wheels, Elderhostel
- Invite
guest speakers, with shared funding from various depts.
4)
Curricular initiatives,
strategies, course ideas: core discovery courses, cluster, interdisc.
projects
- Include
emotion with course
content (heart knowledge + head knowledge)
- Create
more memorable moments
- Incorporate
SOP w/ ALL CLASSES, not just CORE
- “What
can we do locally?”: Work w/ Latah County Historical Society
(“neighborhood history”); service learning opportunities
5)
What are other ways that our
experiences can continue to benefit our colleagues & us?
- Apply
concepts at macro & micro levels: Group interaction, attachment to place
& to each other-
Put UI on the map as cutting edge
institution. Revive campus community,
include exhibits & symposia, generate public enthusiasm for the endowment
(major donors, faculty, alumni w/ appreciation for interdisciplinary
collaboration)
- Orientation
to place for NW faculty
- Edited
book RE SOP
- Use
Web site to post photos, seminarians’ responses to photos, memories
6)
How can we assure the continued
vitality of this Humanities Endowment for future groups of faculty?
- Extending
community outreach to like-minded colleagues, redefine ourselves as a larger
group
among disciplines (or not), foster
C.L.A.S.S. as a cohesive unit, start other groups, networks of interdisciplinary
knowledge
- Assume
responsibility for Institute for
Pacific Northwest Studies (potentially “inherited” from
Carlos Schwantes), linking
community & place
- Presentations
to deans, dept. heads, regents (6/27?, 7/03?)
- “Here
we have Idaho” magazine article about Humanities Fellows Program
- Journal
article(s) RE SOP
- Investigate
size of endowment & annual earnings
- Consider
option of contributing to current
operations
Next meeting: Thurs.
June 5, 4:00 P.M. at Margaret’s home, 628 N. Hayes, Moscow
Important reminder: Jerry,
don’t forget to post your recipe for that wonderful
peach pie that you
brought on Thursday!